It would be sensible to transpose this simple system into the more refined ‘quality of life’ scoring systems that are now being developed in other areas, for example, the ‘welfare impact of specific diseases’ on particular breeds ( Asher et al., 2009 and Collins et al., 2010). Additionally, objective scoring is required for those defects that may be inherited; Summers et al. (2010) have addressed this problem by developing a grading system that scores the strength of evidence for the ‘hereditary basis’ of a disorder. Clearly, if real advances are to be made, there is also a need for a universal means of data capture and storage, exploiting the potential of the World Wide Web.